


The Toymaker

by iam93percentstardust



Series: A Legend Anew [4]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Deleted Scenes, Gandalf's Shenanigans, Gen, Shopping, Toys, not sex toys just regular toys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-25 00:09:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17110724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iam93percentstardust/pseuds/iam93percentstardust
Summary: Bifur does not like that Gandalf is in his shop, no matter what the reason might be.Takes place after Such Hope As This: Chapter 11





	The Toymaker

**Author's Note:**

> So during the last posting of Such Hope As This, I mentioned that I had agreed to post a few deleted scenes that I had written and was willing to take requests for any others. I didn't receive very many takers on the offer but here is one of the deleted scenes that I wrote, occurring after Gandalf's pardoning at the end of Meanwhile in Erebor.

Bifur eyed the wizard in his shop suspiciously. He hadn’t been in Erebor on the previous day but Bofur had. He’d come home, shouting about how Gandalf had swept into the throne room and declared Moria to be the home of an ancient horror. Bifur had snorted at the news, not so sure he believed the wizard that he’d never quite trusted the way the others had. Bofur had assured him that Gandalf was deadly serious, that Kíli’s elf, What’s-his-face, had been terror-stricken at the thought. He’d openly scoffed at that, unimpressed by the elf’s “valor.” Disappointed by his cousin’s lack of reaction, Bofur had sullenly muttered that Thorin had postponed the planned siege of Moria and forgiven Gandalf’s banishment. Bifur had been much more interested in those facts, especially because Gandalf tended to bring trouble wherever he went. In Bifur’s opinion, the wizard shouldn’t be welcomed back in Erebor.

And now Gandalf was poking around his shop, examining the wooden toys like he wanted to buy a set.

Bifur actually had two toy stores, one in Erebor and one in Dale. He’d had to open the one in Dale ten years earlier after the store in Erebor had become too busy to manage. He would have been delighted about the whole affair- who didn’t want more business?- but the visitors to the shop in Erebor rarely wanted to purchase anything. Rather, they were more interested in meeting the most accessible of Thorin’s companions.

He wasn’t one of the princes, seen only from a distance, or Bofur, so often in Mirkwood, or even Ori, tucked away in the libraries. He was Bifur, easily found puttering away in his shop, and all the dwarves returning to their homeland wanted to meet one of the famed heroes. Had he been another dwarf, he might have been flattered by the attention. But he wasn’t. He liked his peace and quiet in the shop he’d worked so hard to get.

Those first few years, his most frequent visitor had been Bard of Dale, shopping first for his youngest daughter and then for his oldest daughter’s first child. Not long after his marriage, Bard had stopped by once more. That time, though, he had casually mentioned the growing interest Dale’s citizens had in the toys their king’s family played with. After being nearly mobbed earlier that morning, Bifur hadn’t needed much convincing. He’d hired an assistant to run the shop in Erebor and opened up another one in Dale.

Now, he spent almost all of his time at the store in Dale though he made the toys for both. He liked that the denizens of Dale didn’t care that he was a companion of the dwarf king, only that he made high-quality toys. It kept his store devoid of any who weren’t actually shopping for children.

Except now Gandalf was in his store and he couldn’t imagine why Gandalf would ever be shopping for a child’s playthings.

On the one hand, he wanted to ask what Gandalf was doing in there. But, on the other hand, the wizard kept looking over at him like he wanted Bifur to ask and he wasn’t about to give him that kind of satisfaction.

It was apparent that Gandalf did indeed know a child and was now shopping for them.

The thought that Gandalf didn’t just know a child but actually had one popped into his brain. He shuddered at the very idea. Gandalf was not allowed to have children. That was just too strange for a simple dwarf like Bifur.

Finally, Gandalf selected whatever it was he was looking for and made his way to the counter. He looked vaguely disappointed that Bifur hadn’t asked him why he was there, which filled Bifur with all sorts of warm feelings. He glanced down at the purchase as he was counting Gandalf’s change to see a set of delicately crafted soldiers. He was surprised by the choice.

This wasn’t an ordinary set of soldiers. This was a very special set of fifteen characters. There were thirteen dwarves, one wizard, and a hobbit. Each was painted exactly as Bifur remembered them, prepared to face down a fire-breathing dragon. Whoever Gandalf was purchasing them for must truly enjoy the story of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield.

He looked back up, spotting the twinkle in Gandalf’s eyes. He grunted, certain that Gandalf was again expecting to ask. Sure enough, the wizard’s expression fell as Bifur said nothing. He took the proffered package and swept out the door, just as quickly as he had appeared.

Bifur watched him go and resolved to tell Bofur all about it that night.


End file.
